Decorative colors for application to textile fabrics



Patented Feb. 20, 1934 PATENT OFFICE DECORATIVE COLORS FOR APPLICATIONTO TEXTILE FABRICS William H. Adams, Kenyon, R. I. assignor to EasternFinishing Works, Kenyon, R. 1., a corporation of Rhode Island NoDrawing. Application November 18, 1931 Serial No. 575,945

2 Claims.

"This invention relates to a decorative color composition for use indecorating or coloring textile fabrics.

Pigment or lake colors ground or otherwise dispersed in or mixed withvarious kinds of adhesive and protective drying oil or varnish meiums,with or without more or less volatile thinners and drying assistants,are commonly used to produce ornamental and useful textile fabricssuitable for awning fabrics, canopies, umbrellas, draperies, furniturecoverings, etc., the decorative color being commonly applied to thefabrics either :by a printing operation or by painting, stencilling orspraying it on the fabric or by dipping the fabric in the color.

The use of these paint-like or varnish-like mediums, which depend whollyor in great part upon oxidation or polymerization for their permanentadhesive, protective and binding action, is attended with manydisadvantages and they are unduly expensive; but because of theirdispersive retention of pigments and their suitability in theirpreliminary states as grinding media, and their inherent viscosity andtenacity in solution as well as their ready compatibility with andadhesion to textile fibres, they now form the chief reliance for thistype of color application.

Some disadvantages inherent in the use of these paint-like andvarnish-like mediums are that they are apt to stiffen unduly the fabricson which they are used, or even sometimes to in- Jure the fabrics byacting as oxygen carriers and producing oxidation. Furthermore, suchpaintlike or varnish-like mediums sometimes develop discoloration andoffensive odors when stored and their nature restricts unduly themethods by which such colors may be applied. Furthermore, these colorcompositions above referred 40-to do not exercise any considerablemildew resistant effect upon the fabrics to which they are applied.

A further disadvantage resulting from the use of such color compositionsis that they are prone to become harsh, chalky, dry and porous when old,while when first applied to the fabric they are often too soft and areinclined to smudge. In addition such color compositions tend to remainon the surface of the fabric to which they 5 are applied where they aremore subject to wear attrition and weathering than more penetrativecolors would be.

An object of my present invention is to provide an improved type ofcolor medium or color composition for decorating textile fabrics whichdispersive quality depends upon its own inherent composition .andtexture rather than on chemical oxidation or polymerization for itssuccessful employment, and which is highly resistant both to mildewgrowth and to weathering, which possesses adequate inherent viscosity,which shows marked toward colored pigment and lakes and also verysatisfactory compatibility toward wetting, penetration of, and permanentadhesion to, the fabrics on which it is applied, and which also servesto protect the fabric. from over oxidation instead of facilitating suchinury.

My invention consists of a color medium cor posed of two or more blendedmetallic soaps of different fatty acids and difi'erent metallic bases,so Selected, proportioned and combined as to produce a color vehicle ormedium whichhas the desired consistency, viscosity and mildewand weatherresistance. colloidally combined with color pigments or lakes,preferably of a permanent nature, such a mixture being easily thinned toa suitable working consistency with chemically neutral or non.-

drying and non-polymerizing volatile solvents or thinners. If preferred,however, the color pigments or lakes may be ground and mixed with suchsolvents to form a paste before being combined with the blended mediumor vehicle.

In preparing my improved decorative color I select and blend metallicsoaps that have the appropriate different qualities which combined givea final composition after the solvent or thinner has evaporated which isamorphous, coherent, adhesive, weather resistant, inhibitory to mildewgrowth, that is neither oily nor sticky, that is compatible with andreadily penetrates textiles, and that can be used equally well onnatural unbleached or bleached or dyed textile fabrics.

Some metallic soaps have a relatively low melting point, some areextremely viscous in solution, while others are apt to be powdery orgranular. Furthermore, while some of these soaps are not particularlypreventative of mildew growth, yet others are markedly and specificallyinhibitory to such growths. But when the correctly selected soaps areblended in suitable proportions the various qualities also blend andmodify each other so that it is possible to obtain a mixture having thequalities and consistency desired.

As a typical formula exemplifying my invention I may use equal parts byweight of either lead oleate or lead oleo stearate or lead soaptechnical and either aluminum oleate or aluminum soap applied to thefabric by technical and one-eighth as much copper oleate or copper soaptechnical, and dissolve them in from two to five times their combinedweights of either neutral petroleum naphtha, mineral spirit, varnolineor equivalent solvent. A suitable amount of color pigment or lake isthen colloidally dispersed in the solution, it being understood that thecolor pigment will have been previously prepared either by dry grindingto a very fine state of sub-division or by paste grinding with a minimumamount of liquid grinding medium. The amount of color pigment or lakewill vary according to the strength or color of the shade desired, andthe range of variation may be as much as from five to fifty percent byweight.

The color composition thus produced may be painting, stencilling,spraying, brushing, printing, or spreading it thereon or by dipping thefabric into the compound.

After the color composition has been applied it loses its liquidcondition upon the evaporation of the volatile solvent, this changebeing effected without oxidation, polymerization or chemical change andit results in a final amorphous tenacious, protective coloring, which ispenetrant and adherent, which is low in cost, easy to apply, weatherresistant and of long life, flexible, resistant to mildew and of anattractive and desirable appearance.

Owing to their optical qualities and generally light color these mediumsmake brighter colors from the same pigments than do drying oil andvarnish mediums, and they retain their fiexibility after all solvent isgone, having no tendency to progressive hardening, overdrying or overoxidation.

The metallic soaps employed do not need to be of sharp purity, asordinary mixtures of fatty acids as found in natural soap materials, anden tering into common pure white or light colored toilet, laundry ortechnical and commercial soaps give satisfactory metallic soaps whenprecipitated with suitable soluble salts of the desired metals, purifiedby washing, and dried at suitable temperatures, and these precipitatescan be made separately or combined in the making by using two or moredifferent soluble metallic salts combined in a single precipitatingsolution; all these substances and methods being known in the arts andno part of my invention.

My invention thus consists in the employment of different metallic soapsof widely varying chemical and physical qualities which are blended bythe aid of neutral volatile solvents into a medium having resultantqualities diiferent from those of its ingredients, and suitable for theparticular uses herein described, and also adapted to facilitate andstabilize colloidal dispersion of color pigments and lakes.

The aluminum soaps are more or less viscous and have marked waterproofqualities but little or no mildew-resistant qualities. The lead soapsare much less viscous in solution than the aluminum soap but morepenetrant and strongly mildew resistant. The copper soaps which alonelack somewhat in waterproof qualities, combines with the other two in asuperior blend which has marked mildew-resistant qualities and alsoresists oxidation to a surprising extent.

While I have given above some formulas which exemplify the invention,yet I wish it understood that the invention is not limited to the blendsabove given but may be embodied in other blends of metallic soaps whichproduce the desired result.

I claim:

1. A decorative color composition which when applied to cloth hasadherent and penetrative properties and is flexible, and which comprisesa mixture of aluminum soap, lead soap and copper soap dissolved in anon-oxidizable neutral volatile solvent and having color pigment mixedtherein,

said mixture containing equal parts by weight of the aluminum soap andlead soap and approximately one-eighth as much copper soap as eitheraluminum soap or lead soap.

2. A decorated fabric comprising a fabric base and a decorative colorcomposition applied thereto and comprising equal parts of lead soap andaluminum soap and a smaller amount of copper soap.

WILLIAM H. ADAMS.

